Skip to main content

Don't take him back there!

Abraham has his son Isaac, who was the promised one. He was to be Abraham's heir and the one through whom the blessing would come. Having been a miracle child himself, he had a slight problem. He was now in his early forties and still single. If he didn't find a wife the Abrahamic covenant would never be fulfilled and Jesus would not be born. 

It was a crucial moment when Abraham called his servant to swear that he would find a woman for his boy. The oath was binding only if and when the discovered bride came back to Abraham's tent. If she didn't, the deal was off. 

We know that she did come back and ended up having twins, Esau and Jacob. However, there is a couple of verses that drew my attention to an important principle for us to think about. Look at 24:6 and 8, 

Genesis 24:6 "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there."

Why was Abraham so emphatic about not taking Isaac back to see the land of his dad's roots? Abraham knew that if Isaac had returned that the draw of that land would probably be too strong for his son to resist. Even though Isaac was 42 years old at the time, Abraham didn't want to risk losing his son to old and pagan ways. So, he sent Eliezer to fetch the bride. 

Lesson for you and me. Don't trust your kids to make good decisions when appealing sin is in front of their eyes. These days, giving a child or teen a cell phone is so dangerous that it is not worth the risk. Their eyes will be attracted to things that should never entre anyone's eyes. Keep your kids from being the dark side as long as you can. They'll be on their own soon enough. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth?  Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tottering!

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my po...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Circumcision Advantage

 What a title right? I'm thinking of Romans 3:1 where Paul asks, "What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?"  This was always an avoided subject in Sunday school, especially in a mixed class. We didn't use the "C" word. Too wierd.  Paul is bringing up this topic for good reasons. He wants to show that the Jews definitely have had a great advantage during their history. In the next verse he tells one of them when he says, ... "First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God." The first jew talked to God in person. God chose Abram to be the father of many nations and to bring the blessing of the Messiah to the world. The Old Testament is the story of the Jewish nation. God dealt with the Jews throughout the ages of the time before Christ. They were the chosen. But in all that blessing they ended up crucifying the Messiah.  With all of their advantages the Jews came short of the ideal....
Post a Comment
Read more